Has anyone heard of this? I heard a hospital CNM yesterday recommend to a mom with a second-degree tear to do sitz baths with 1/2 cup powdered Dreft (the laundry detergent). I asked her if this was somehow better than epsom salts, and she said yes, because Dreft has phosphorus in it "for healing."

This hasn't been sitting with me well, as I'm imagining all the other chemicals that are in the Dreft, and I wouldn't want to sit my raw bottom in that! But that's just my gut reaction, and I wondered if others also recommend this, and/or have more information.

If I remember correctly that stuff stinks - very heavily perfumed (ugh! I don't think I could stand to sit in a tub with even a little of it, peeuuuu). And, as you say what other chemicals are in it. There have to be better, more natural, options.

Not something I would want to do nor would I recommend it to a client. There are certainly better options for a sitz bath and the soap/chemicals in this detergent would make me worry more about things like yeast infection or other distrupances to mom's flora. Yuck.

Just to soothe everyone who is (rightfully!) oooged out by this, I talked with the mama today and she is NOT soaking in Dreft, and has charged her husband with assembling the herbal bath recipe I sent her. BLECH! I just shiver thinking about how many moms have followed this midwife's advice.

I was curious about this and googled "dreft and perineal healing"- there are a few websites that recommend using unscented dreft for clothing and a website where you can buy Deft perineal washes...still not super-exited about sitting in detergent.

I read the title of this thread thinking "surely not. . . ?! - they must be talking about soaking cloth pads or soiled linen postpartum and even then, hydrogen peroxide works without the horrible scent, etc".

I just heard this recommendation from ANOTHER CNM this week. I think I might add this to the last class in my childbirth series, when we talk about postpartum care. "And please, for the love of G**, don't soak your tender postpartum bottom in chemical-laden Dreft." And I'll give them an herbal postpartum bath recipe to consider instead.

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They use dreft for burn healing at our local e.r. Haven't heard of it for perineal soaks yet though, gross.

OMG, this freaks me out, too. My mother was a burn victim, and I cannot imagine all of that petroleum being sucked into her body...NOT what you need when your body is trying to heal that much trauma! There are many other, healthier things they could use--like honey (there are some wonderful studies out of England, I believe, on burn healing and raw honey/royal jelly, esp on victims with large percentages of tissue burned and infections on the burns that disallow the burns from healing), herbs, supplements. SALINE, even. *shudder* Just... yeah. Not cool. Let's keep petroleum based chemicals away from any type of tissue that has healing to do, shall we?

Sorry, I remember reading this thead, but I must have missed this post.

Well I can see using the Lysol or at least the old Lysol that basically used alcohol tinctures of certain phenolic plants, sort of like how some people use EO's now and it was developed long before the invention of antibiotics. In any case I tried to look up the background for using dreft, and I think it probably is less caustic than say old lye soap, in using it before debridement of burn tissues i imagine it helps to soften the scabs so they are easier to scrub off, but for perineal healing ick.

Well I can see using the Lysol or at least the old Lysol that basically used alcohol tinctures of certain phenolic plants, sort of like how some people use EO's now and it was developed long before the invention of antibiotics.

Huh, that is interesting. I was wondering if it was something like that but the ads don't give any info on exactly what it was.